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Post by David on May 9, 2023 13:25:40 GMT -6
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Post by David on May 8, 2023 11:18:41 GMT -6
I would hazard a guess that we will still hear Doug on the radio from time to time. Grant Nielsen has filled in a number of times. Even if it's just by phone during major news stories. As Tanya said, he'll always be a part of the KSL family. Anyone know whatever happened to Bob Lee? He was at KSL for a long time then went to KNRS/KALL. He left KALL, or was removed, when KALL went with a more edgy format. As far as I know, he hasn't been heard from since. This Deseret News article from January 1998 mentions Bob Lee's new talk show on KNRS during the 4-7 PM time slot. That time slot is now occupied by Rod Arquette, so I can only speculate that Bob was laid off during one of iHeart's many personnel cutbacks. www.deseret.com/1998/1/9/19356746/bob-lee-is-coming-back-to-radio-as-host-of-weekday-talk-showThe most recent mention of Bob Lee that I was able to find is a KSL.com article from 2012 about the 90th anniversary of KSL radio. I wonder if he passed away, or just got out of the broadcasting business entirely. www.ksl.com/article/20272204/ksl-radio-90-years-old-and-going-strong
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Post by David on May 6, 2023 22:25:17 GMT -6
IMO, KSL made a good choice in picking Andy Farnsworth as Doug's successor for the KSL Movie Show. I listened to Andy several times when he filled in for Alex Kirry on the "pandemic edition" of the Nightside Project, and I thought he did a really good job. It's seldom an easy job to replace a long time, well known host like Doug Wright, but I think Andy will fit in just fine as co-host with Steve Salles. Time will tell.
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Post by David on May 6, 2023 17:19:08 GMT -6
Too bad we can't convince Bonneville International to add the 1160 frequency to KSL's logo for the station's 101st anniversary, eh? 😉 Yeah, I know: AM is dead/sounds like crap, most people listen to FM, it's not cool to mention the AM frequency, blah, blah, blah. KNX never mentions 1070 AM now except during their TOH ID. I still believe that KSL (and KNRS) should promote their AM frequencies, but I'm sure they don't care what I think. Besides, the AM vs. FM debate has already been discussed elsewhere on this board.🙂 But for those who are interested in the history of KSL radio, here's a short documentary from 2022 about where it all began. youtu.be/y6xa5eoCTvA
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Post by David on May 4, 2023 16:53:09 GMT -6
BTW....I grew up in the 60's, and I don't remember there being big noise problems on the AM band. I remember listening to distant stations on a radio, with built-in antenna, on the kitchen table, or in the basement. My grandfather's tube radio in his backyard barn had no issues, except when he ran a table saw. Down south, power lines were always fairly new, due to tornadoes, so the hardware was not a problem. The problem nowadays is just a lack of maintenance, and people not reporting problems as they occur. IMO, the main reason for the increase in noise and static on the AM band in the past 20 years is due to switching power supplies and the other Part 15 noisemakers that the FCC has allowed to flood the U.S. market. Congress mandated the use of switching power supplies several years ago in the name of energy conservation, and they're one of the biggest RFI generators I know of. The lack of RFI shielding in modern electronics is another culprit, as well as some poorly maintained radio stations, AC power lines, and deteriorating wooden power poles. I remember when one of my ham radio friends was having problems with RFI interference on the HF bands, and he traced it to a noisy power pole owned by Rocky Mountain Power. When my friend called RMP to send out their RFI troubleshooter, it took several days before the technician showed up to investigate. It was then that I learned Rocky Mountain Power had just one employee to investigate RFI complaints for all of Weber County! 🙄
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Post by David on May 4, 2023 16:35:23 GMT -6
AM sounded great when I was a kid in the 80s and early 90s. (My love of oldies came from being very close to my grandpa growing up.) I know when they put HD on AM it made the analog signal sound bad. If there was a station that simulcasted on FM, though, the FM was still my preference. I never got to experience AM stereo. I wish I had. My only experience with AM stereo was renting a Chrysler K Car for a few days in 1985 while my car was in the shop for repairs, and I thought it sounded excellent . . . and I was in my 20's then! I lived in the Twin Cities at the time, and WCCO, KTCJ (690 AM, now KFXN) and I believe KSTP 1500 all broadcast in AM stereo in 1985. KTCJ had a jazz format in those days, and the music sounded great in stereo! Of course, AM radio was much more popular in the 1980's than it is now, and most radio stations had a full time engineer that actually cared about their AM stations sounding good.
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Post by David on May 4, 2023 16:17:11 GMT -6
IMO, this proposal will go nowhere fast. Moving AM stations to the portion of the FM band below 88 MHz or some of the unused VHF TV channels has been suggested many times in the past 20 years, and nothing has come of it. Any proposals to relocate AM stations to another frequency band have been ignored or denied by the FCC. Good grief, it took 20+ years for the FCC to finally allow FM as an approved transmission mode for CB radio! "Uncle Charlie" and the NAB are more likely to continue to beat the drum for AM broadcast as the preferred method of disseminating emergency information than to propose moving AM stations to another band of frequencies. Moreover, there have been several TV stations that have moved back to the VHF channels since the TV station repack has further reduced the number of available UHF channels. I wouldn't be surprised to see more TV stations moving back to VHF in the future, either. I'll probably die before AM radio becomes obsolete, and I'll be 60 years old in October. 🙄 Besides the expense of AM radio stations having to buy new transmission equipment if the band were to be relocated to the TV frequencies or below the current FM broadcast band, consumers would have to buy new radios to receive any stations that relocated to the new band(s). I just don't foresee that happening in this day & age. AM radio's biggest selling point is that it's easily accessible to the majority of the U.S. population, and it's an almost fail safe method of communication because of FEMA and other U.S. Government funding & regulations. I just don't foresee KSL, KNRS and other high power AM stations abandoning conventional broadcasting for a new, unproven technology.
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Post by David on May 4, 2023 15:30:24 GMT -6
I doubt that Broadway Media is making any money with KUDD 105.1 HD2, but I'll continue to listen occasionally as long as KOOL FM remains on the air. I really miss the on air jocks that used to be on KOOL FM, but I don't know of any other radio station in Salt Lake City that plays "pop, soul and rock & roll" recorded prior to 1975. Besides X96 Classic and KRSP's "Deep Tracks" channel, I'm really not interested in any other HD radio channels besides KOOL FM and KSOP-FM HD2. There may be more compelling reasons to own an HD radio if one lives in one of the Top 25 radio markets, but quite frankly I'm not very impressed with the Salt Lake HD channels.
BTW, is it just my 50 something ears, or does the audio on KRSP 103.5 HD2 sound "quieter" than the main HD channel? I always have to turn up the volume when listening to The Arrow's "Deep Tracks" channel, and I've often wondered if it's just me, or if other listeners have had the same experience.
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Post by David on May 4, 2023 12:57:24 GMT -6
These are all excellent responses. Thank you. I hadn't even thought of SiriusXM. I suppose Europe didn't have that complication. Some European countries have dropped conventional FM radio for digital audio broadcasting (DAB), or Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). I don't know if either technology has been more successful in Europe than HD Radio has been in the United States.
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Post by David on May 3, 2023 21:25:50 GMT -6
For starters, iHeart did away with all their HD2 channels in Salt Lake City, and I believe nationwide as well. Second, almost none of the local radio stations like KSL and the Broadway Media stations actively promote their HD channels on air, so people aren't really aware they exist unless they have an HD receiver. KSOP is the only local radio station I know of that actively promotes its HD2 channel on the air, and I usually hear at least one spot for 104.3 HD2 on KSOP-AM every hour. Lastly, the penetration rate for HD Radio is only about 30% according to the most recent information I could find on the web. When HD Radio was a relatively new technology, I used to hear promo spots for it on several local radio stations, but it's been at least five years or more since I heard any promos for HD Radio on the air. Basically, I think the technology is dying a slow death from benign neglect.
EDIT: iHeart did keep "Business 99.1" on KJMY 99.5 HD2, but I suspect that has more to do with Bloomberg's compensation to iHeart than anything else. Also, HD radio signals can be very difficult to receive if you're on the fringes of the signal, especially with the inadequate antennas supplied with many HD radios. My Sangean HDR-15 is a great example of a good quality radio that's hampered by a cheesy wire antenna that only works for the HD subchannels with strong signals. The average consumer doesn't want to fiddle with an antenna for 5-10 minutes to receive a radio station, especially if they live in an area where FM signals don't penetrate very well. I live about a mile from the mouth of Ogden Canyon, and "regular" FM signals can be difficult to receive at my location, let alone HD FM signals.
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Post by David on Apr 28, 2023 19:24:36 GMT -6
Looks like the one. I wonder who owns that property right now, and has it just stayed vacant all these years? Also, what are the plans for it? Could have been a nice site for some ham, or other radio/aficionado, with a tower already standing. According to the person who submitted the video to Fox 13, the former tower site is going to be used for (surprise!) a new housing development. ☹️ I've lost track of how many AM tower sites in the Salt Lake City area have been cleared for housing developments. The former KOGN studio/tower site was cleared for what appears to be storage units, but I think it could be included in the housing development list also.
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Post by David on Apr 27, 2023 13:11:50 GMT -6
The video was posted on Fox 13's Facebook page on Tuesday, April 25th, and the description says the tower was demolished the same day. The only radio tower I know of that's been in Tooele "for decades" (according to Fox 13) is the old KDYL/KTLE tower that dates to the time period when those stations were on 990 AM.
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Post by David on Apr 26, 2023 12:51:14 GMT -6
Fox 13 posted a video of a radio tower demolition on their Facebook page yesterday, with Tooele given as the tower location. However, no call letters of the radio station were given, and I'm trying to figure out whose tower it was. Anyone have any ideas? fb.watch/k9aC5KkMHf/?mibextid=ZbWKwL
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Post by David on Apr 20, 2023 23:15:43 GMT -6
What would I do with The Zone? I'd bring back Gordon Monson and Austin Horton for starters. I listened to "Utah Car Cents" with Austin and Jeff Miller almost every Saturday, and I really miss that show. It was the last automotive discussion show on Salt Lake City radio, and a refreshing alternative to the usual sports yak on The Zone. At one time both KALL and KSL had similar shows on the weekends, but they disappeared years ago. Is there really no demand for an automotive discussion radio program anymore? No wonder talk radio ratings are on the decline. For the most part, it's the same subjects being discussed over and over, especially politics. Boring!!
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Post by David on Apr 2, 2023 19:33:34 GMT -6
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